Minister urges honoring of agreement with KFOR

A road in northern Kosovo is open again after a meeting held between Kosovo Minister Goran Bogdanovic and representatives of the NATO-led forces in Kosovo. Minister urges honoring of agreement with KFOR The road Banjska-Novi Pazar road was blocked by KFOR for 24 hours after a fuel tank that carried more than 3. 5 tons was prevented from entering. Members of KFOR from the United States and Morocco reinforced the road block by bringing in barbed wire by helicopters, leaving villagers from Banjska stranded on the road and unable to reach their homes. For this reason, Bogdanovic and KFOR commander Erhard Buehler held an urgent meeting. "General Buehler promised me he had no intention of sealing off hermetically administrative or alternative crossings," said Bogdanovic. "You've seen for yourself that the KFOR barricade between Banjska and Izvor was removed and that's the result of the talks." Interior Minister and Deputy Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, who was in the province for a church ceremony which he attended along with Bogdanovic, also said the deal reached with KFOR about passage of goods must be respected. "Clearly northern Kosovo does not need as much goods as are being imported. If we look only at the amount of oil that arrives in Kosovo it seems that Kosovo is ten times the size of Serbia," said he. When it comes to the deal on customs controls on checkpoints, Bogdanovic said it was still unclear where the customs income would go, but that Belgrade finds it unacceptable that it should go to the budget of "the state of Kosovo". "Respond peacefully" Goran Bogdanovic said on Sunday said that in the coming period, Serbia will be faced with major challenges and unilateral moves by the Kosovo Albanian authorities in Pristina, to which “we must respond in a peaceful and democratic way.” Bogdanovic told Tanjug news agency that there was no willingness to accept "the Kosovo state and customs authorities in the north". He reiterated that the recent agreement on customs stamps does not mean that the Belgrade and Pristina authorities arrived at a solution for levying the customs taxes at the administrative crossings in the north. “We stand ready to negotiate the issue, but we will not accept the Kosovo state here and the Kosovo customs officials at the administrative checkpoints in the north. We will be faced with Pristina's unilateral moves, major challenges, and we must stand ready to respond to them in a peaceful and democratic way,” Bogdanovic underlined. The minister said that citizens are ready to pay VAT (from which they have been exempted in the recent years), on condition that the money goes to the local self-governments.

Minister urges honoring of agreement with KFOR

The road Banjska-Novi Pazar road was blocked by KFOR for 24 hours after a fuel tank that carried more than 3. 5 tons was prevented from entering.

Members of KFOR from the United States and Morocco reinforced the road block by bringing in barbed wire by helicopters, leaving villagers from Banjska stranded on the road and unable to reach their homes.

For this reason, Bogdanović and KFOR commander Erhard Buehler held an urgent meeting.

"General Buehler promised me he had no intention of sealing off hermetically administrative or alternative crossings," said Bogdanović.

"You've seen for yourself that the KFOR barricade between Banjska and Izvor was removed and that's the result of the talks."

Interior Minister and Deputy Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, who was in the province for a church ceremony which he attended along with Bogdanović, also said the deal reached with KFOR about passage of goods must be respected.

"Clearly northern Kosovo does not need as much goods as are being imported. If we look only at the amount of oil that arrives in Kosovo it seems that Kosovo is ten times the size of Serbia," said he.

When it comes to the deal on customs controls on checkpoints, Bogdanović said it was still unclear where the customs income would go, but that Belgrade finds it unacceptable that it should go to the budget of "the state of Kosovo".

"Respond peacefully"

Goran Bogdanović said on Sunday said that in the coming period, Serbia will be faced with major challenges and unilateral moves by the Kosovo Albanian authorities in Priština, to which “we must respond in a peaceful and democratic way.”

Bogdanović told Tanjug news agency that there was no willingness to accept "the Kosovo state and customs authorities in the north".

He reiterated that the recent agreement on customs stamps does not mean that the Belgrade and Priština authorities arrived at a solution for levying the customs taxes at the administrative crossings in the north.

“We stand ready to negotiate the issue, but we will not accept the Kosovo state here and the Kosovo customs officials at the administrative checkpoints in the north. We will be faced with Priština's unilateral moves, major challenges, and we must stand ready to respond to them in a peaceful and democratic way,” Bogdanović underlined.

The minister said that citizens are ready to pay VAT (from which they have been exempted in the recent years), on condition that the money goes to the local self-governments.